Any of you wanna/can help a fellow biker out? I'm badly in need of help/advice as I'm in the (painfull) process of buying a motorcycle in Thailand. I'll try to be to the point:

I am in Bangkok buying a motorcycle to ride around Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Back in Bangkok at the end of februari I want to sell it again. I have been around some shops in Bangkok and decided to buy a 12 year old Honda Bros 650 cc for 50.000 Bhat (after a testdrive that went okay). After I bought it some technical problems have surfaced. I am not happy with that and the people from the (Thai) shop agree that I should swap it for another bike. They suggest that I take a registered Honda Phantom 150 cc that's three years old and has done 31.000 kilometers. It seems to me that 50.000 Bhat is a steep price, so I would really like some good advice on this. Should I take the offer or bargain for a better one???

I had the Honda Bros registered in my name, so I could take it to Laos and Cambodia. Now the people from the motorcycle shop want me to take the Honda Phantom without registering it in my name. They'll give me some papers that will get me across the border. I have two questions on this:
1. Will I have problems at the border if I show registration papers that don't have my name on them?
2. Is it a problem that the bike is not registered in my name when I want to sell it in Bangkok? I'm afraid I will have no other option than to sell it back to the same shop, which will decrease my bargaining position a lot.

I'll have to make a decision soon. I hope someone is able to give me some good advice. It will be hugely appreciated.

Maarten

BTW: I'm hoping to meet some riders when I get to Chiang Mai and have a few beers together. Anybody thirsty up there?

Staff Member

Maarten
I think that you need to look athttps://www.gt-rider.com/bikes.html#BUYINGABIKE
to get some decent info.
If you had the Bros in your name, there's no reason why you can't have the Phantom in your name. Note too, that guys on tourist visas have & do get bikes registered in their names, and it could just be that you are dealing with the wrong shop / people.
A Bros & / or Phantom might be ok for touring on asphalt roads in Thailand & Laos, but they certainly are NOT the bike for touring Cambodia! This should be an important consideration, and I feel that you might need to do a little more research about touring in the region.
Last but not least please make some road & trip reports so that we can all learn from your experience, & correctly advise other newcomers.

Thanks a lot for the help, David! It's appreciated a great deal. I have read this message board quite a lot and it's been very useful. I had also checked the info on gt-rider.com before I bought the Bros. I will take your advice on Cambodia and probably just hire a suitable bike there.

This afternoon I'll go to Peter Reid of Siam Superbike and ask for his advice as well before I make a decision. I hope I get this sorted out soon so I can hit the road. I'll definitively send those reports to the message this board.

If anybody else has anything to add to David's advice, it'll be most welcome.

Maarten, It sounds like your on to good advise as what is the best bike for your needs. The one point I would stress is that the bike is not REALLY yours if it is not in your name. Good luck I will be up in Chiang Mai on Jan 20st so maybe will see you there, at the Kafe. I have a blue African Twin. John

My problem is solved. I went to Siam Superbike to see Peter, but he was a way for a few days. I asked if I could hire one of the mechanics to assist me in picking a new bike at the store where I returned my Honda Bros. The guy I talked to was very helpful and sent two guys with me, no payment needed. So these two guys come with me, but they hardly speak any English. We arrive at the shop where I bought the Bros and they check out the Honda Phantom that was offered to me. Apparently it's a functioning allright and I am tempted to take the offer.

We are just about to leave when the guys from Siam Superbike realise that I own the Bros, which I explained before but they apperently hadn't understood. They tell me to take my bike to their store. I am thinking they talk about the Phantom and I don't understand why I should take it to Siam if the bike is OK (like they said). After some confusing communication back and forth they call to Siam and let me speak to the Thai manager who speaks better English than them. He asks me if that Bros is mine, I aswer 'yes' and he starts yelling 'YOU BRING BIKE TO THE SHOP NOW, I BUY FROM YOU' (like Tom Cruise yelling 'show me the money' in that movie). Half an hour later I was back at Siam Superbike and sold my Bros for the 50.000 Bhat that I had paid for it and today I bought a Honda Super Four at Siam Superbike for 80.000 Baht. I get it registered on my name, so I can go out of Thailand and sell it to whoever I want to when I get back here.

Tomorrow morning I'm driving out of Bangkok towards Chang Mai, where I should arrive in a few days (and surely will look up the Kafe).

Maarten, Good to hear of your sucess. The Thai manager's name is Jum. I had a similar experience when I bought my African Twin from Peter at Siam Superbike. I made the deal with Peter right before he left Bangkok for a several week trip. I then dropped by his shop a few days after he had returned to make sure that the process of getting the "book" for my bike was moving along. As Peter and I was talking for a few minutes Jum walked up and handed me the book. John

I had a few motorcycle related questions and emailed Peter, who was so friendly to help me out. I visited him on my next BKK trip and he gave me more good advice on where to get parts for my bike. He's a trustworthy guy and can save you a lot of confusion and running around; some Thai-run shops it's better to avoid...

Thanks for the nice responses[] As you would imagine running a service business is somewhat different from doing the same thing in the west. After many years here I still have some trouble with the Thai notion of commitments to deadlines. But I am proud of my guys,they work well as a team and seem to commited to helping out fellow Motorcyclists whether there is a "buck in it or not".